Week Three

This week included our first two games of the season and our first road trip of the season. We swept Roanoke for our home opener and swept LaGrange on our road trip. My duties this week included coaching first base and even hitting pregame infield/outfield and throwing pregame batting practice. Working with Coach Austin, I have learned that the things that I took for granted as a player and paid closely attention to as a coach. For example, I have paid for attention to the opposing team taking pregame infield/outfield and the drills that they do. As a coach, if you see something that another team does and you like it, it is perfectly fine if you take that drill and use it yourself. Coach Austin has said that most of the stuff we do in practice has come from other teams.

Week Three Hours

Feb 4 - 10:15 to 5:15
Feb 5 - 10:15 to 5:15
Feb 6 - 3:20 to 6:30
Feb 7 - 4:20 to 6:30
Feb 8 - 3:20 to 6:30
Feb 9 - 3:00 to 6:30
Feb 11 - 12:00 to 6:00
Feb 12 - 12:00 to 6:00

Total: 38 hours

Week Two

This week was very similar to the first week. At practice I continued working with the outfielders and throwing batting practice to the team. However, with our first three games coming on the weekend, Coach Austin asked me team specific questions on who I thought should be the closer or start at a certain position. I was honored that Coach would ask me because I had just began my coaching career while he has been a coach for over thirty years now. I told him who I thought and he respected my opinion and ever agreed with me on some of my decisions. He told me how we as a coaching staff would approach certain situations in the field, as far as who is starting and whether or not they would start there the whole season. For example, a player might start at a certain position because of seniority but over the course of the year the position may be given to a younger, yet experienced, player who could probably do a better job. Not that the older player could not get the job done, but the younger player was better.

Coach Austin also let me know that I would be the first base coach during the year. He told me all the responsibilties that I would have as the first base coach and even where I should stand in certain situations. For example, with nobody on base I was to stand as far down the first base foul line that the umpire would let me, this being for safety reasons. Being only 90 feet away, there is not a lot of time to react to a line drive, so with no one on base I should stand at a safe range away from the batter. When someone is on first, I am to stand in a direct line to see the pitcher, but close enough to talk to the runner without anyone else hearing. During this situation I am often less than 10 feet away from first base.

I have enjoyed my coaching experience so far and I look forward to making my coaching debut this weekend against Roanoke College.

Week 2 Hours

Jan 28 - 9:30 to 4:30
Jan 29 - 1:00 to 4:30
Jan 30 - 3:00 to 5:45
Jan 31 - 4:20 to 6:20
Feb 1 - 3:30 to 6:00
Feb 2 - 3:30 to 7:00
Feb 3 - 3:00 to 6:00

Total hours worked for the week: 24:45

Hours Worked Week 1

Job Site: Armstong-Shelley Baseball Field at Methodist University

Jan 18th 3:30 to 6:45
Jan 19th 3:30 to 7:10
Jan 20th 3:00 to 6:30
Jan 21st 9:30 to 12:00 then 1:20 to 3:00
Jan 22nd 12:15 to 4:45
Jan 24th 4:20 to 7:00
Jan 25th 3:20 to 7:00
Jan 26th 3:30 to 6:30 and 7:20 to 9:00

total hours worked: 30 hours and 45 minutes*

**I am terrible with math, if I added wrong please let me know

Week One

This past week has been more exciting than I imagined it would be. I've always wanted to be a baseball coach and I am grateful that Coach Austin has given me a chance to be part of his staff. A couple days before practice, Coach Austin told me that I would be in charge of the outfielders of the team. As a former outfielder in high school, I had a pretty good understanding on what outfielders should be doing in certain situations. I was responsible for going over drills with them and helping coach them when they need coaching. Once practice started I began to hit ground balls and fly balls to the outfielders. When the team would take batting practice I have been the one to throw batting practice to them. I have had many compliments from the team and Coach Austin on my batting practice and as a young coach, those compliments have meant a lot. While my batting practice has been going well, one area I feel I can get better in is hitting fly balls to the outfielders. I personally think I am too inconsistant when it comes to hitting fly balls. I'll often hit one that is a good fly ball and then the next two will either be way too short for the outfielder to make a play on, or I'll miss the ball and hit one on the ground. One way to improve this is to just continue hitting fly balls during practice, I don't think it will take too long before I can master this skill.
Objectives for the Coming Week: Next week I hope to become better at hitting fly balls to the outfielders and prepare the team for the first game next Saturday. I hope to throw even better batting practice than I did last week because as a coach, there is nothing like giving up well hit ball after well hit ball by the team. When this happens, I know I am doing my job well.